"OH, HONEY. THE ONLY NEED I HAVE IS TO PAY MY WAY."
Her words were laughed and yet their implication did not suit her. She had round, silvery eyes that were so clear he would have believed her if she'd told him that they held the moon. Gray fur adorned her cheeks in different hues, lightening and darkening like shadows playing with wisps of light. Repleat with her small ears and dainty proportions, she looked more like a school girl that had just gotten lost from her group. Not a woman forced to pay her way through trading flesh for flesh—so to speak. She gave her time and her body and in the morning she got a full belly, perhaps a roof over her head for the next month, and maybe some semblance of protection.
And she was blind.
Maybe it shouldn't have mattered. He felt torn, at war with the gut response of sorrow for her and the little voice that argued over her autonomy. She could want this. He didn't know, and maybe he was biased into thinking that she was a woman with no options.
But would she tell him that when he might be her meal ticket?
"BUT SURE, WE CAN START OVER. I'M AURELIA ROSE. WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"
No matter how much he wanted to listen to that little voice and move forward without a second thought, he couldn't get over the pit in his stomach whenever he looked at her. And the feeling that if he touched her, he'd be complicit in whatever chains were holding her down here. Like an anchor keeping her at the bottom of the ocean.
"Caspian," he offered with a half-hearted smile she couldn't see.
After a beat, he stood up."I just realized that it's gotten rather late. Gotta be up early to catch some fish tomorrow morning..." Gingerly, he rolled the last of his grapes toward her. "If you tell the waitress my name, she'll give you a meal on my tab and make me pay for it later. She might even give you extra if you complain about how awful I am—she's got a bleeding heart for a kindred spirit."
With that, he offered a slightly brighter smile—but again, one that didn't make much difference.
"If you ever long for the quiet life, feel free to visit Aberdeen. My sister and I have some extra rooms."
And then, gently, he patted her shoulder before making his exit. Internally, that quiet war of morals raged, amplified by the feeling of having now "abandoned" her.
-exit caspian -
CASPIAN SEAFARER
spring — year 1708 — redwood
scroll downHer words were laughed and yet their implication did not suit her. She had round, silvery eyes that were so clear he would have believed her if she'd told him that they held the moon. Gray fur adorned her cheeks in different hues, lightening and darkening like shadows playing with wisps of light. Repleat with her small ears and dainty proportions, she looked more like a school girl that had just gotten lost from her group. Not a woman forced to pay her way through trading flesh for flesh—so to speak. She gave her time and her body and in the morning she got a full belly, perhaps a roof over her head for the next month, and maybe some semblance of protection.
And she was blind.
Maybe it shouldn't have mattered. He felt torn, at war with the gut response of sorrow for her and the little voice that argued over her autonomy. She could want this. He didn't know, and maybe he was biased into thinking that she was a woman with no options.
But would she tell him that when he might be her meal ticket?
"BUT SURE, WE CAN START OVER. I'M AURELIA ROSE. WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"
No matter how much he wanted to listen to that little voice and move forward without a second thought, he couldn't get over the pit in his stomach whenever he looked at her. And the feeling that if he touched her, he'd be complicit in whatever chains were holding her down here. Like an anchor keeping her at the bottom of the ocean.
After a beat, he stood up.
With that, he offered a slightly brighter smile—but again, one that didn't make much difference.
And then, gently, he patted her shoulder before making his exit. Internally, that quiet war of morals raged, amplified by the feeling of having now "abandoned" her.
spring — year 1708 — redwood
